


it’s a new life but always the same love

by wisterispidey



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon Compliant, Canon Divergence, Gen, Light Angst, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:49:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23021248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisterispidey/pseuds/wisterispidey
Summary: Tony and Peter meet in completely new lives, but in the end, it’s always the same love between a father and his son.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 16
Kudos: 230





	it’s a new life but always the same love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RebecaThomas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebecaThomas/gifts).



> hey guys what’s up my name’s kimmy and i update every five years (oops) — i have a bunch of set stories planned already so it shouldn’t be too long when i post something again
> 
> aNyways, this was written for a very dear friend of mine!! happy birthday bec, i hope you like this, love you lots!! <3
> 
> (i tried to see how many of your favorite tropes i could write within one story, this is the end result)

**i.**

Peter was, well, Peter was so fucking _tired._

But he also had to get his ass out of bed since he had a test in history first period and another one in geometry in his last class of the day.

(He probably wouldn’t have been so tired if he had just gone straight home after patrol instead of going to Ned’s for an impromptu movie night but whatever.)

But now his alarm clock blared _6:48_ in bright, red numbers and it wouldn’t hurt if he just shut his eyes for another five minutes, right?

Right?

 _Wrong._

He was so wrong because when he opened his eyes again—Peter could’ve sworn it had been only five minutes.

It was 7:22 and school started in eight minutes.

Which also meant he could get ready within two minutes if he skipped breakfast—so he did.

And he could already hear May or Mr. Stark, or worse May _and_ Mr. Stark reprimanding him for it later.

But like all his problems, he would deal with them well, later.

It was a bit risky taking his suit for a swing this early in the morning but it’s not like the bus was as fast as Spider-Man swinging around with his webshooters.

Peter vaguely remembered throwing on his suit and layering random clothes with his sneakers before swinging out the window.

Just another (tired) day in the life of Peter Parker.  
___

Peter was starting to regret all the choices he’d made in his life.

Actually, no, not really, but the point was that he was screwed. 

There were only two questions left on his geometry test and he was starving—because he thought it was a good idea to skip lunch and take a nap—and now Peter suddenly couldn’t remember shit about geometry. 

_Maybe you should’ve actually eaten breakfast and lunch instead of skipping them,_ the voice sounded vaguely like Mr. Stark, and wow, maybe he should have eaten some food.

 _Kid, you shouldn’t have watched all those mov—_

“Shut up,” Peter hissed, and he flushed when his classmates glanced up at him.

Man, he really regretted skipping out on his Cinnamon Toast Crunch this morning.

He quickly calculated an answer for the second to last question (how did it take him _that_ long to realize he just needed the inverse tangent of the triangle?) before looking at the last question.

It was a proof. A fucking proof. The clock said there was still six minutes left of class.

Peter sighed, scribbled down what was hopefully the right answer before slamming his head on the desk.

He really wanted some Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  
___

Technically speaking, Peter knew better than to go patrol on an empty stomach.

Which was exactly why he had a five star meal beforehand.

The five star meal being a bite of the granola bar he found in the bottom of his backpack.

Man he loved making smart choices. 

“Hey Karen,” he greeted as he started making his usual rounds in Queens.

“Hello Peter,” she answered, “your blood sugar levels seem abnormally lower than usual.”

Peter paused, “What’re you talking about, I just had a five star meal.”

“I don’t think a fourth of a granola bar classifies as a five star meal, Peter.”

He snorted and kept swinging, scanning the area for anyone or anything that seemed out of place. 

“Peter, I advise that you just head home, patrolling right now would be very—”

And Peter felt kinda bad for not listening but right as his AI started talking, he heard what sounded a lot like a fire alarm a couple blocks away.

Then he saw the smoke.

“Karen, plot the fastest route to the fire,” he told her, _“please.”_

Her disapproving silence told him all he needed to know, but a highlighted path was displayed on his HUD anyways, and he whispered a quick thank you before swinging off.

It didn’t take long before Peter was at the sight of the burning apartment building, firefighters already surrounding the area.

“Can you scan for anyone in the building?”

A moment passed by before Karen answered, “There seems to be three people left on the second floor and I suggest you act fast, Peter.”

Okay, cool, he could do this.

He immediately spotted the terrified family of three through one of the windows, noting the way the entrance door seemed to be stuck.

“Karen, is it safe past the front door?” he asked.

She hummed, “My scanners detect that the safest way out would be through the window.”

Peter nodded, that was all he needed before wrenching the window open.

“Hey, hey guys,” he called out, “Spider-Man here, I need you all to listen carefully alright?”

Peter carefully relayed his plan to the family as fast he could, _hold on, don’t let go, and trust me, okay?_

Peter swiftly created a net between two other buildings with his webs, making sure the net hung a safe distance above the ground before swinging up to the second floor of the burning structure again.

“Alright, we’re good to go,” he tried his best not to sound nervous, “one by one, all aboard the Spidey Zipline.”

That got him a giggle from the younger brother, Max, and he called it a win.

He held Max tight to him, shooting a line of webbing to the other building and slid down to the net, gently dropping the kid down.

“‘Kay Max, I’m gonna go get mom and your sister Elise now, wait right here, yeah?”

Max nodded and Peter was just about to swing up when a red warning flashed on his screen.

“Peter, I think the fire was caused by a gas leak, you need to hurry,” Karen warned and he swung to the building as fast as he could.

“Change of plans everyone,” he told the rest of Max’s family, “I need both of you with me, _please.”_

Elise looked like she was about to cry and Peter felt _really_ bad.

“But—but will we fall, Mommy, what if we fall?” Elise shakily asked.

He’d been through enough panic attacks by now to recognize the signs of one, and he had to think fast.

“Elise, Elise, hey,” he gently grabbed her hand, “breathe, you’ll be okay, you can trust me, I’ll get you and mom down to Max.”

“Two minutes left, Peter.” Karen whispered to him.

“Max is right there see,” he gestured down towards the makeshift net, “he’s safe.”

Twenty seconds passed. Almost a minute and a half left. Peter would’ve waited an eternity if he had to, but they needed to go, _now._

He watched her take a deep breath before nodding her head and Peter carefully lifted Elise and her mom into his arms—he was really glad that spider gave him super strength. 

His screen flashed that he had one minute left and he quickly slid down a line of webbing, breathing out a sigh of relief when Max was reunited with his family.

“Hey Karen, is everyone—is everyone...” Peter gasped as the adrenaline started wearing off, his vision blurring.

“Peter,” she called out.

Karen’s voice was barely distinguishable from the pounding in his head, “Blood sugar,” her words sounded like a jumbled mess now, “too low.” 

He met black.  
__

Peter woke up to the steady sound of a heart monitor and the smell that only one place could have.

 _Medbay,_ he was definitely inside the Medbay.

“Welcome back, kid,” he heard a voice beside him, and he immediately relaxed.

It was Mr. Stark.

“Hey, Mr. Stark,” he paused, “how’s your day going?”

The man scoffed, fondness in his eyes as he gripped Peter’s hand—nobody was getting scolded at yet so he was pretty sure he wasn’t in _that_ much trouble, or at least he hoped.

“It’s been going, kiddo,” he arched an eyebrow, “now a little Kare Bear told me about your five star meal today.”

Peter groaned, never mind, he was in trouble.

“Is May here?”

“Not yet Spider-Boy, Happy says they’ll be here in five—” Peter watched the door slam open, cutting off Mr. Stark.

May was right here, and she did not look happy.

“Never mind, May’s right here Spiderling, explain yourself.”

He sighed, May even had her glasses on, this meant business and he was probably going to have to fake his death and move to Canada so both of his parental figures wouldn’t ground him for the rest of his life.

“Well? Come on sweetheart,” May prompted quietly.

“Before you guys say anything, I was at Ned’s last night,” he didn’t miss the way Mr. Stark and May gave each other a _look,_ and he blushed, “no, not like that—stop laughing, I’m explaining!”

Mr. Stark was still snickering, and Peter could see how May’s shoulders were shaking when she tried to hide her laughter. 

Betrayal.

 _“Anyways,_ I was binge watching some of the Harry Potter movies with Ned, and then it was like four in the morning,” they nodded, “and then I swung home, woke up late, forgot about breakfast and lunch and here we are.”

“Here we are.” May repeated.

“Pete, we’ve been through this, Spidey metabolism needs food, you can’t just skip meals like that.” Mr. Stark told him and he huffed.

Peter stared at his hands, he _knew_ that, but that family needed his help.

Speaking of which— 

“Is Max okay, and Kayla? What about their—”

“Everyone’s safe Spider-Man, but are _you_ okay?” Tony answered.

“Um, yeah,” his stomach growled, “actually, can I make a small request?”

Both May and Tony did that parent head tilt thing—the one where it meant like _yeah, what’s up, what do you need?_ —at the same time and geez, that was kinda creepy but he’d bring it up later.

“Can we get Thai for dinner, the owner really larbs May, y’know and—”

Peter couldn’t help the laugh that escaped when May threw the pillow at him. 

Maybe today wasn’t _that_ bad.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook though, no patrolling for a week.” Tony said, wagging his finger at him.

Peter sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

Never mind, it was that bad.

**ii.**

Tony really hoped that woman didn’t alert the press that he and Peter were out at the park right now.

It’d been weeks since he had free time, and now that he finally had it, he wanted to make sure his son had the best time at the park.

Which also meant no press.

Tony could feel her stare at him but she didn’t seem to have any intention of alerting the media about where he was.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

And then he saw a man walking quickly past him—a bit _too_ quickly if you asked him—and he could’ve sworn the little girl with him had been with the woman earlier.

He immediately told JARVIS to call emergency services before he started following the guy.

“Pete, buddy, c’mere,” he called out to Peter and his son came running from the sandbox.

Tony usually would’ve laughed and cooed at how adorable his son was, but now was not the time.

“There’s a bad guy okay,” Tony paused, trying to think of the best way to phrase this to his five year old, “and we’re gonna defeat him, but that means we stay calm and together, ‘kay?”

“‘Kay.” Peter nodded immediately, and held out his arms.

“Hey!” he barked out, making sure Peter was safe in his arms before catching up to the man.

Tony took note of his startled expression, glad he had called the police beforehand.

“Don’t try anything,” Tony warned, “I don’t think I need to explain who I am, and I think we both know that kid is _not_ yours.”

The kidnapper gulped. “No, no, you’re wrong, she’s my daughter, she—” 

_Click._

Tony heard the dull click of handcuffs closing—the man hadn’t even realized the police were behind him.

“Mr. Stark, do you need us to help her find her mom?” One of the officers asked and Tony shook his head, and they nodded their affirmative.

“Hi,” he knelt down to the little girl, “I’m Tony, this is Peter, we’re gonna help you get back to your mom, okay?”

She looked at them closely, and Tony felt his heart break at the distrust in her eyes—she was too young to be exposed to something like this.

He could only be thankful nothing else had happened.

“Okay,” she answered, and much quieter she said, “thank you. My name is Amelia, but Amy is okay too.”

Tony smiled, and offered her his hand, “Okay Amelia but Amy is okay too, let’s find your mom.”

Peter giggled and even Amy didn’t try to hide her smile.  
__

Sara didn’t think she’d ever see Tony Stark in her life, let alone the supposed son the tabloids kept printing about.

She only planned on bringing her daughter out to the park for a bit—both of them needed the fresh air—and she was pretty sure that was _the_ Tony Stark.

As much as she wanted to go up and ask for a photo (how could she not, it was Tony fucking Stark) she could sense he just wanted to spend some time with his son.

Call it parents intuition if you will.

“Amy, honey, it’s time to…” she trailed off. 

Amy was _right_ there, she was right next to her, there’s no way she could have left without her seeing.

Sara frantically scanned the park, looking for any, _any_ sign of her daughter.

And that’s when she spotted one of the butterfly clips Amy had insisted on wearing this morning.

But no Amy.

“Amy? Amy!” Sara yelled, her vision blurring as she sobbed out again—she remembered the kidnapping statistics she had read from a pamphlet once.

But she never thought it’d happen to Amy.

_Every 40 seconds a child goes missing somewhere in the United States. There are more than 460,000—_

“Mommy!” Sara heard her daughter call out from behind her and she whipped around.

Her daughter was hand in hand with Tony Stark, and she was _safe._

“I’m okay, Mr. Tony helped me find you again,” Amy frowned, noticing how red her mom’s eyes we’re “are you okay?”

She pulled her daughter into a tight hug before looking towards Mr. Tony.

“I—I can't thank you enough,” she started, “I thought she was gone, I don’t know what I would’ve done—”

Tony shook his head, subconsciously holding Peter tighter in his arms.

“It’s alright, I have a son too, Pete’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Tony paused, eyes softening as Peter looked up at him with warm, doe eyes, “I don’t know what I would’ve done either.”

Sara nodded.

She didn’t see how the news could call Tony Stark an egotistical menace that would corrupt his son or whatever it was they were headlining last night.

“Well, thank you again,” she paused, “you’re a lot different than from what the news says about you Mr. Stark.”

And then she turned around, with Amy safe in her arms, leaving behind a dumbfounded Tony Stark.

“Did we get the bad guy, Daddy?” Peter asked, staring at him with worried eyes.

“Yup, all good here Petey, looks like another job well done from Superdad and his sidekick Peter-Boy right?”

Peter giggled, “No, you’re my sidekick, don’t be silly!”

Tony laughed, kissing the top of Peter’s head.

“Whatever you say baby.” 

**iii.**

Tony Stark met Mary Parker once during a college party at MIT.

He got her a drink, they talked, things happened and he hadn’t heard from her since.

Four months passed by and he forgot all about Mary Parker.

And then she walked up to him one day, told him that she was pregnant with _his_ child.

Tony was fucked. 

He was 19, he couldn’t remember to eat food half the time—his diet consisted of coffee and sometimes extra coffee—and he could barely function sometimes.

How was he supposed to raise a child?

But then she’d shown him the ultrasound pictures and holy shit, that was _his_ child.

Both of his parents had been disapproving when they found out, even more so when they realized Mary wasn’t going to be apart of the picture.

_“I can’t just force her to raise a kid,” he told his mom one day, “she has college too, we agreed on this, okay?_

His mom turned around a lot faster than his father—not like he cared as much about his father’s opinion—and that was the end of it.

Rhodey had given him a skeptical look at first, but then Tony asked him if he wanted to be his kid’s godfather and he could’ve sworn Rhodey looked like his biggest dreams had come true.

Hell, Tony was already whipped for his kid, and he wasn’t even born yet.

His kid.

And now after months of doctor’s appointments, a shit ton of ultrasound pictures and freaking out—which was more on Tony’s part than Mary’s—he was finally holding _his kid._

“Mr. Stark, did you or Ms. Parker have a name in mind for your son?” One of the nurses asked him.

He glanced at Mary and she softly shook her head.

Then he looked down at his son, who was a bit red and wrinkly but still the most beautiful baby he’d ever seen. 

_Peter._

Tony didn’t know how the name came to mind, but he knew Peter was the right name.

“Peter,” Tony told the nurse, he paused and glanced at Mary, “Peter Parker Stark.”

The nurse nodded and Mary looked at him with surprise.

“Parker as his middle name… are you sure?” she asked him.

“We might not get along Parker,” he grinned, eyes soft as he looked at the sleeping baby in his arms, “but thank you, Mary, for Peter.”

Mary smiled, fondness in her eyes as she looked at them.

“I’m not ready to raise a child but,” Mary paused, “I don’t think I’ll have to worry about Peter—you’ll be a good dad Tony.”

He didn’t know why Mary’s words made his eyes so watery but he nodded, and they both shared another smile.

_His kid._

**iv.**

When Natasha Romanoff returned to the Avengers Compound, she expected two things.

One was that she wouldn’t be able to enter the secure building at all—she was wrong, and she clutched that small piece of hope close to her heart.

And two, the place would likely be empty.

Not completely empty but she didn’t think the Compound would be filled with the liveliness that used to exist when all of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes used to live there.

Before their team had split, the growing cracks between their team turning into a chasm, tearing them apart.

But then she saw Tony and a _kid_ laughing at something on the TV, their laughter filling the room.

She noted the school textbooks thrown around the room, a stray sweatshirt that likely belonged to the kid, and a backpack haphazardly thrown by the couch.

Natasha also realized the kid seemed to have somehow sensed her too.

“Kid?” Tony turned towards him, noticing the way his shoulders tensed the slightest bit.

Natasha was trained to do this, trained to observe the slightest shift in motion, the minuscule details that were often overlooked.

She saw the way Tony had instinctively wrapped his arm around the kid’s shoulder.

As if protecting him from whatever threat the kid had detected—which was technically her.

And she noted how the kid had naturally leaned closer to Tony.

Whoever this kid was, he and Tony were obviously close, she’d known him for years now and the only people he allowed physical affection with was the ones he trusted.

Rhodey. Pepper. Happy. 

And now the kid.

Natasha hoped that Tony had trusted her like he did them at one point—now she couldn’t be so sure—and she tried to bite back the bitter taste of regret. 

“There’s someone behind us,” the kid told Tony, and he quickly looked in her direction.

“Nat.” Tony greeted, he sounded terse but she had hope.

“Tony,” she replied, “who’s the kid?”

“He’s—”

“Woah, you're _the_ Black Widow!”

She smiled, and Natasha saw the warmth and affection Tony had in his eyes when he looked at him.

“Yup, good job Pete, do you want a cookie?” he teased and _Pete_ scowled at him, albeit halfheartedly.

“Anyways, Nat, meet Peter, Peter meet Nat,” Tony continued, “why are you here Nat?”

She paused. 

She knew she could’ve bullshitted some excuse about running low on food, or not having a place to stay.

But Natasha knew why she'd come back to the Compound in the first place, and she wouldn’t lie about it.

“I… I wanted to see if everything was alright,” a moment passed, “on your end.”

The silence spoke all the words she didn’t have to, and she hoped Tony got the message too.

_I wanted to see if you were doing alright. I know how everyone else is doing, I wanted to see how you were doing._

Tony nodded. Peter relaxed the tiniest bit.

“You’re not gonna hurt Mr. Stark again are you?” he spoke up, finally interrupting the silence.

She knew she’d heard Peter’s voice somewhere before, and it shouldn’t have been that hard to remember where.

“No, not on purpose,” she answered, and Peter seemed to sense the sincerity in her words.

“Oh, well, me and Mr. Stark—”

“Mr. Stark and _I.”_ Tony interjected and Peter rolled his eyes at him, a small smile on his face.

“Mr. Stark and _I_ were about to start the fifth Harry Potter if you wanna watch,” Peter offered, a bit hesitant but she got what he was trying to do.

And that’s when it hit her where she’d heard that voice before. 

Natasha had heard it every time she saw another news update about Spider-Man and Iron Man patrolling through New York, their banter always prominent in the footage the stations played.

Spider-Man, Peter was Spider-Man. And he’d helped Tony when the worst possible outcome had become reality.

And it’s been a while since she last saw the Harry Potter movies too, it wouldn’t hurt to watch them again.

“Alright,” Natasha nodded, “wouldn’t hurt to have another… arachnid friend.”

Peter looked exactly like a deer caught in the headlights and Tony sighed.

“You couldn’t have waited another minute, Nat?” Tony asked, but there was mirth in his eyes as he looked at her now.

Natasha didn’t know much about Peter, but if Tony trusted him that much, then it was good enough for her.

**v.**

After the Vulture incident, Tony reached out to Peter more.

He listened to the kids daily updates about his patrols—he’d been getting a lot more churros than usual—instead of assigning Happy to.

They had their weekly lab days too, days that Tony _might’ve_ looked forward to, days where they’d update Peter’s suit together or edit the coding in his AI.

 _Karen,_ he’d name the multi-million dollar AI Karen.

Typical.

And Tony wouldn’t exactly say he was fond of the kid, or whatever else Pepper had said, but it was nice having him around.

Sometimes.

He still shudders whenever he thinks about the Spiderling on the ceiling and broom incident.

Pepper hadn’t been happy with the footprints on the ceiling, and who got stuck with cleaning it—he did.

_“Peter didn’t mean to do it honey, you were the one chasing him around with a broomstick.”_

Details.

(Okay, so maybe he was actually fond of the kid, but it’s not like anyone had to know that.)  
__

Tony got the call when he was finishing the last touch up on Rhodey’s leg braces.

“Boss, the number seems to be from Peter’s school.”

He paused.

“Answer ‘em, Fri,” he told her and went back to tightening the last bolt on the braces.

“Hello? Is this Mr. Stark?” 

“It’s him, what happened, is Peter okay?” He answered immediately, picking up on the woman’s worried tone.

“Yes, hi, I’m the school nurse, Peter’s fine but,” she paused, “he’s sick, and his aunt didn't pick up—you were the next of his emergency contacts.”

It warmed Tony’s heart to know Aunt Hottie trusted him enough to put him as one of Peter’s emergency contacts, but that was something he’d have to process later.

“Of course, uh, I’ll be there in a bit,” he told the nurse and promptly hung up.

“Tony,” Rhodey finally spoke up, “what the _fuck?”_

He shrugged, “You wanna go to a high school real quick?”  
__

“Mr. Stark!” Peter called out in surprise. 

Or tried too, his congestion and barely existent voice didn’t exactly help him articulate his words—it sounded more _Mis’ser S’ark._

“Hey kiddie, ready to go?” Tony asked, already signing him out.

Peter coughed, which was followed by a sneeze and Tony couldn’t help but compare him to a puppy.

A puppy with a cold.

“You didn’t have to get me, y’know? I’m not even that sick,” he told him before going into another coughing fit.

Yup, not that sick he said.

“Well, doctor’s orders, time for you to get some soup and whatever people do when they’re sick.”

Peter nodded wearily, standing up on shaky legs and Tony was by his side in an instant.

“Are you sure though, I didn’t want to bother you or anything—you probably had a lot of work—”

Tony shook his head.

“Kid, it’s all good, I wasn’t busy,” which was a bit of a lie but he didn’t need to know that, “and besides, can't have you spreading your spider sickness everywhere.”

Peter rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think anyone can turn into a Spider person if I sneeze on them but okay.”

Tony chuckled, making sure he got safely into his seat before heading to the driver’s seat.

Oh shit he forgot Rhodey was here.

“Hey kid, forgot to mention, Rhodey’s here, Rhodey meet Peter,” he motioned towards the kid for his best friend.

“Oh,” Peter whispered, “that’s cool, hi Rhodey… wait _War Machine?”_

“Hey kid,” Rhodey answered with a smile, and ha, Tony was right, Rhodey was whipped already.

“Oh, this is _so_ cool, it’s an honor to meet you Mr. Colonel Rhodes, sir.” Peter told him excitedly and wow, okay.

“How come you weren't like this when you met me, huh?” Tony looked at him, eyebrows raised.

Peter flushed, “Well, to be fair, the first time we met—actually wait, I don’t think I’ve told you this yet.”

“What do you mean kiddo, I asked you about the _internship_ remember?” Tony asked, confused.

Rhodey coughed and Tony sent him a look that clearly meant _I’ll tell you later._

“No, no, this was way before that like uh,” he paused, “eight years ago, yeah, anyways Stark Expo, I met you then!”

The Expo—that had been so long ago, but Tony clearly recalled the memory of the little kid that been wearing the Iron Man mask and—

“That was _you?”_

Peter grinned, “Yeah! You remember, the drone things were about to get me and then you just went boom and my eight year old self was just like _woah.”_

A part of Tony was kind of like, _what the fuck Peter could’ve died,_ but then another part, the part that he finally accepted and acknowledged, was fond.

He was so fucking fond of the Peter Parker kid.

And he might not even be his kid biologically, but he’ll be damned if he let him ever feel like Howard made him feel.

“First off, you’ve been doing the whole almost dying gig since you were eight, we’re working on that,” Tony ignored Rhodey’s snort, “second off, that still doesn’t explain your reaction to Rhodey.”

Peter sighed, mumbling something under his breath.

“Speak up Spider-Baby, I can’t hear you,” he called out and Peter rolled his eyes.

“Did you forget your hearing aids, Mr. Stark?” 

Rhodey cackled and Tony sighed.

“You know what,” Tony turned around to look at him, “if you bully me anymore, I’m gonna tell Pepper exactly what happened to her painting last week.”

Peter blanched and Tony snickered.

Fine, Pepper was right, he actually liked the kid, and _yes,_ he was fond of him.

**vi.**

“Kid?” 

Tony looked up from the schematics displayed on the screen, finally realizing the absence of Peter’s usual rambling.

His heart melted at the sight in front of him.

Peter’s curly hair was a mess, his head resting on his hand, clearly half asleep.

“Hey Sleeping Beauty, you doing good over there?” Tony teased, and Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“‘M not Sleeping Beauty, Mr. Stark,” he yawned, “I’m Spider-Man.”

“Fri, what time is it?” Tony asked, internally debating if he should continue with their movie night as planned or just send Peter straight to bed.

“It’s currently midnight boss.”

“Pete, maybe we’ll have movie night another time, I don’t think your aunt—”

When Peter heard the words _movie night_ and _another time_ , he woke up immediately.

“No!” he yelled, “No, it’s okay Mr. Stark, look, I’m not even tired anymore, all good!”

Tony looked at him skeptically.

“You look like you’re about to fall off your chair kid,” he pointed out and Peter sighed.

He’d been waiting weeks for another movie night—finals were over and Mr. Stark finished up all his projects for the company—and nothing would get in his way.

Which meant only one thing: he had to pull out the big guns.

“Mr. Stark.” Peter started, making sure to use what May had long coined his _killer puppy eyes._

“Did you know that you’re my favorite Avenger?” Tony rolled his eyes, fondness shining in them, “And that you’re like the best superhero dad slash menter person ever?”

Tony sighed. Peter grinned. Bingo.

“Alright, you little heathen, we’ll watch the damn movie,” Tony huffed, “go get ready, shoo!”  
__

Twenty minutes later, Tony and Peter sat snuggled on the couch, and _Coco_ playing on the TV.

“Why’re we watching this movie again?” 

Peter rolled his eyes, “Because it’s a cinematic masterpiece, that’s why.”

Tony raised an eyebrow.

“And.. and the soundtrack really slaps, so that’s an added benefit y’know?”

Tony grinned, ignoring Peter’s squawk as he ruffled his hair. 

And then he noticed how Peter’s sweatshirt sleeves were practically hanging off his hands. 

And that sweatshirt was definitely _not_ his either.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Tony whispered suspiciously, “that’s _my_ sweatshirt, the one I said was missing last week.”

Peter flushed, “Um, no it’s not, I think your senior citizen memory is getting to you.”

“First off, rude,” Tony poked Peter’s arm, “second off, when did you suddenly attend MIT in 1987, huh?”

And really, Tony didn’t have a problem with Peter taking his sweatshirt—his heart warmed at the idea of Peter possibly attending his alma mater one day—but it was payback for calling him an old man in front of Pepper last week.

He was _never_ going to live that down.

“Um, well, you see,” Peter shrugged, “it’s mine now, finders keepers.”

Tony scoffed but anyone could see how soft his smile was.

“Sure kid, finders keepers.”

And then it was quiet, both Tony and Peter sat in a comfortable silence, watching the rest of _Coco_ on the screen.  
__

By the time the end credits started playing, Peter was practically asleep.

But then he thought about that one part in Coco and how Hector was _that_ close to dying (could you die when you were already dead?) and how he almost lost his chance to see his daughter again.

Which made him really sad. 

And what if something like that happened, what if he never got to see May again, or Mr. Stark, what if—

“Hey Mr. Stark?” Peter murmured quietly, voice muffled from leaning on Tony’s shoulder.

“What’s up kiddie?”

Peter thought about how _infinite_ some things were, the universe—or maybe universes—was, and he remembered something Uncle Ben had told him once.

It’d been when he was going through his astronomy phase, and all six year old Peter wanted to do was learn about the galaxies and the planets.

_“You’re a good kid, son,” Ben paused, his eyes crinkling as he smiled at him, “and your book said the universe was infinite, but they forgot the most important thing.”_

_Peter stared at him confused, what could be bigger than the universe?_

_“What is it?”_

_Ben smiled as he answered, “Love. The universe isn’t as big as how much I love you kiddo.”_

Peter had laughed then, telling his uncle that it was totally impossible because the universe was just too big, but he understood now.

And he didn’t want another parent to go without them knowing how much he appreciated them.

So with the help of his practically asleep mind and a deep breath, Peter spoke.

“You’re pretty cool for an old man…” he trailed off, before shyly speaking again, “and y’know, I love you a lot, like bigger than the universe a lot.”

Peter heard Tony cough and holy shit what if he said the wrong thing or something? What if—

“I love you too kiddo, like bigger than the universe a lot.” Tony grinned and Peter hid his smile in Tony’s shoulder. 

Man, movie nights were the best nights.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are highly appreciated!
> 
> reviews and criticism are appreciated as well.
> 
> thank you so much for reading <3000


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